We left the hustle and bustle of Venice for the tranquility of Lake Como. Lake Como is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful lakes in the world, and after being here for three days, I am granting it the title of the most beautiful lake in the world.
Several million years ago, God looked at Europe and said: "I need to make a place for George Clooney and Giovanni Versace to Summer. They work so hard". He just finished the fjords of Norway with some glaciers, so he set the glaciers to work and formed Lake Como in the foothills of the Alps.
The Romans and the Italians have used lake Como as a vacation destination for centuries. The city of Bellagio has been the hangout of many a rich European. It is so opulent in Bellagio, it makes the Bellagio casino in Vegas look like a video poker joint.
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Our little town of Varenna |
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Varenna from the boat. At the top of the mountain is the castle turret which is the destination of our hike. |
Our first day of activities was to climb to a nearby roman road up the mountain to the local castle overlooking our town of Varenna. Apparently, they have so many castles in Europe they can't even keep track of who built them. This castle was one of those.
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The Roman road to the castle is on the left. This ruin of past settlement is one of many on the road. Who knows who lived here and what went on. Nature has taken over. |
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A ghost of the castle. |
The castle puts tourists into casts every year to make ghosts. Once the snow comes they disintegrate. They make a very cool and spooky decoration.
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Us from the side of the castle. |
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The "castle" |
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From the Ramparts |
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After a long day of hiking, jumping in the mountain water of Lake Como is ecstacy. |
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Coming from countries where it was certain sickness to drink from any water that was not bottled, it was refreshing to find drinking water on tap in the city. |
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I know what this statue is thinking: "Every day, every day, this damn bird with its stupid face, sits on my head". I feel for you statue. |
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Our last night in Como. To the left isVarenna, slightly to the right of that is Bellagio and the rightmost city is Menaggio. Behind Menagio is the lesser known, yet much celebrated, Menaggitwaggio. |
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